A Rose By Any Other Name Would Not Smell As Sweet
by sagittariusTITAN22
Summary: Petra returns for one final moment with Levi and for one final farewell.


It was a breezy autumn day outside the Survey Corps headquarters. Leaves lightly brushed against the paneled windows of the old castle. The trees were lathered in various shades of gold, yellow, and orange. The floor of the main entrance hallway had its own blanket of leaves that had been brought in by soldiers coming and going through the large, oak, front door of the castle.

The fact that it was fall didn't annoy Levi. He loved fall; it was probably his favorite season just because of the beauty alone. The one thing he didn't love about fall was the endless amount of leaves. They would cling to anything (hair, clothes, shoes, Maneuver Gear) and no force could pull them off...until you got inside. Then the pesky leaves would fall off every where. On the floor, in the beds, on the tables...**anywhere** and **everywhere**. Levi's eyes flashed to the grandfather clock in the corner of his office. 4:23 P.M.

_Hmm...I've still got at least an hour before dinner, _Levi thought with every intention of cleaning.

Levi walked out of his office and down to the main entrance hallway, pausing at one of the many closets near there. This specific one held the cleaning supplies for that wing. He opened it and pulled out a well-worn broom, then headed down to do what he was born to do: clean.

It had beena littleovera half hoursince Levi had started sweeping out the hallway. The numbers of soldiers entering and exiting had ceased to a trickle once Levi began. Assuming they had just gone around back, he continued on. All was going well until he started hearing whispering from outside one of the windows. Levi heard his name in a silky female voice. A familiar voice. The voice of someone he knew. Someone he loved. The voice of...

"Petra."

The name slipped from his lips gently. Then came a giggle-a sweet, bubbly, happy giggle from the same window. Out of the corner of his eye, Levi thought he saw her slip by. The broom clattered to the floor and Levi ran to the oak door, following the whispers.

Pulling the doors open, a fresh breeze whisked into the hall. Leaves swept through the freshly cleaned stone. Levi stood there a moment and looked around. The courtyard was empty. He knew he had heard her, and seen her. So...where was she? He took a couple of steps forward before his foot hit something with a nearly silent clang. He looked down to see a sword lying on the ground. It wasn't attached to anything. There were no lines connecting it to Maneuver Gear, nor were there signs that it had been cut from Maneuver Gear. But there was one thing: a Rose. A perfect, red rose-with its stem wrapped loosely through the trigger guards-was lying on the handle. Levi reached down, and picked the flower up. He held it in his hands a moment before looking up again. Then he saw her. Standing a few feet in front of him. Petra.

She walked over to Levi, slowly, with tears making their slow decent down her cheeks, and a smile forming on her lips. She opened her arms and embraced Levi. in the midst of the hug, Levi let the rose fall and wrapped his arms around Petra's neck. He moved her face until they met eyes and pulled her into a kiss. A kiss they hadn't shared for almost four months since Petra's death. Then it hit Levi. Her death. Petra's death. Levi pulled them apart, but immediately regretted it. Some of her tears had smudged off on Levi's own cheeks.

"Levi...I...I've missed you."

"Petra, how? You're...You're dead. I saw your body...I-I saw it get hurled off the wagon. Your father..."

Petra held Levi's hands in her own and squeezed them lightly.

"I had to come back. I had to say goodbye properly. Let you know-" her voice halted on a fresh stream of tears and her smile shrank a little, "let you know I still love you."

"I'm so sorry. About everything. For leaving Eren in your keep. For giving the order to throw your body off the back of the wagon. For...for letting you die."

Petra held Levi's hands tighter and pressed her forehead to his. She savored that couple of seconds before taking one last kiss from him. They both embraced each other for that moment before breaking the kiss.

Foreheads still touching, Petra whispered, "Sayōnara watashi no ai."

Petra stepped back a few paces to stand in front of the rest of Squad Levi. Gunther, Aurou, Petra, and Eldo stood in a line, saluting. A peaceful smile on each face said to Levi: "You don't have to worry. We're all at peace now."

A gust of wind blew from behind Levi and swept them away. They all turned to dust with the breeze, and the four blew away with the wind. Levi picked up the sword and walked back inside. The memory of Petra was still fresh on his mind, and the love in that memory was fresh in his heart.

**_Hey guys! I had this idea and I typed it up in like an hour at midnight so I hope it's not to terrible. Btw "sayōnara watashi no ai" means "goodbye my lover" in Japanese. T~T_**

**_still hope u enjoyed. Drop me a comment on how I did or PM me if u got an idea for a story. ;-) 8-)_**


End file.
